The term “streaming video” generally refers to the reception of multimedia content, such as television programming and other audiovisual content, through a communications network at a bitrate enabling presentation of the content in real time as it is received. Streaming video may be viewed live or on-demand and transmitted by, for example, a VOD provider, a remotely-controlled placeshifting device, or a pay television provider delivering television programming via cable, satellite, or Internet (OTT) distribution channels. In the case of VOD or OTT television services, the media content may be stored in a pre-encoded format and distributed to a client media receiver, such as a mobile phone or STB, over a CDN. In the case of placeshifted media, a DVR, STB, or a similar device having placeshifting capabilities and located within a user's residence may encode and transmit selected streaming video to a client media receiver, such as a mobile phone or tablet, operated by the end user.
Media streaming services enhance the ease and convenience with which end users view streaming video content, such as VOD, OTT television, and placeshifted media content. Media streaming services are, however, inherently limited by resource constraints affecting network reliability and bandwidth availability. When network bandwidth becomes undesirably constrained during a streaming video session, latencies may occur resulting in prolonged buffering and other delays in the presentation of streaming video content. Network latencies can also result in sluggish response times in implementing user-issued commands during a streaming video session, such as commands issued by a user to change channels when streaming OTT television content. ABR streaming techniques have been developed and are now widely employed to enhance streaming video performance despite such variances in network bandwidth and other constraining factors. Further advancements in ABR streaming techniques remain desirable, however, as consumer demands and expectations continue to grow for near instantaneous, seamless streaming of various types of digital media content.